Some South African sheep
got a nasty little surprise earlier this week when a Google-branded internet balloon came tumbling down from the heavens to say hello. The sheep are in good company, though. Because this happens—a lot. And fortunately for the conspiracy theorists among us, this means all the UFO fodder…

Short of having your body shipped off on a flaming longboat, there aren't many more spectacular ways to be sent off than having your ashes scattered into the edge of the atmosphere. At least, that's the thinking behind Mesoloft, a company that will do exactly that, and provide a GoPro video to immortalize the moment.

There are few sights in science fiction as iconic as the various starship Enterprises cruising through the stars. Steve Schnier decided to create his own high-flying video of the Enterprise by launching a model into the stratosphere.

KLM is going to send someone into space on an SXC Lynx spaceship in 2014. They're releasing a high altitude balloon tomorrow morning and if you guess the altitude and coordinates of where it will pop you'll be the one on that flight.

We've got a dad of the year nominee, folks! Meet Ron Fugelseth, a guy who gave his son's favorite train, Stanley, a trip to space. We've seen stuff hit space before but nothing has been as touching and aww-inducing as this.

Everyone loves a great homemade, photo-snapping, high-atmosphere balloon. But what about one carrying a globe with a little Buzz Lightyear figure standing on top? That has to be even cooler, right? Right. Thanks, Russian guys.

Pirate Parties International recently had a meeting wherein a particularly bonkers proposal was discussed. The problem: Where can servers that store data frequently seen as unsavory be kept? The solution: Hanging from a giant balloon in the sky?

Yesterday the Japanese announced the first space beer. Now the British are claiming the first teddy bear astronauts, who were photographed in space from a home-made vessel with two digital cameras, a flight computer, GPS, and radio.